NGOs, Social Movements, External Funding and Dependency
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NGOs, Social Movements, External Funding and Dependency
FERNAND VINCENT
ABSTRACT Fernand Vincent looks at issues related to the financing sources and how they relate to the autonomy of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Is it possible for these organizations to remain autonomous with regard to their objectives and strategies, when an important percentage of their activities and functioning is financed by external sources? What are the potential risks of these different external financial sources? What interest is there for external partners in financing these activities? Or can one challenge a system when one is dependent on it? He points out the differences between NGOs and transnational social movements (TSMs) concerning both their financing sources and possible implications. He argues that NGO leaders and others must look at how to improve the search for financial and political independence and a transparency that is necessary for the success of the changes they want to promote. KEYWORDS autonomy; transnational social movements; constraints; donors
An ideal balance We need to first analyse what are the real costs of international organizations and movements with regard to their needs. The cost categories of these movements are generally the following: operational and general costs (‘political’costs); costs related to activities and programmes (project costs). It is quite easy to ascertain which costs are related to activities. They can be determined, whether they are personnel costs or other ‘operational’costs, since they are directly visible and can be put in separate budget groups closely linked to their activities: sensitization campaigns, lobbying, defending rights, labels, etc. However, this much cannot be said about the operational (or general) costs that are often directly linked to the political independence of the organization; for example, salaries and expenses of organization leaders, their missions, visits; the policies of network relations and actions; costs related to fundraising; those made to improve the communication between members as well as identifying new members. These expenses often turn out to be badly identified and incorrectly posted. Development (2006) 49(2), 22–28. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1100253
Vincent: External Funding and Dependency In order to meet operational political and project needs, organizations use two forms of financial aid: internal and external financing. The strategies of the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) aiming to keep their political independence should aim to maximize their internal revenues. Internal financing should above all enable organizations to finance costs of personnel assigned to political tasks: programme and strategy development, negotiations, coordination, representation, etc., as external funding is assigned to project activities. Internal revenues can have several sources: members’contributions; donations from members; donations from friends and sympathizers sharing the same values; donations and pa
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